Friday morning May 6

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lipsand our mouth will proclaim your praise.Send your Holy Spirit upon us,and clothe us with power from on high. Alleluia.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, creator God,to you be praise and glory forever.As your Spirit moved over the face of the watersbringing light and life to your creation,pour out your Spirit on us todaythat we may walk as children of lightand by your grace reveal your presence.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Entered the Holy Place Above

Charles Wesley

Entered the holy place above,Covered with meritorious scars,The tokens of his dying loveOur great High Priest in glory bears.He pleads his passion on the tree,He shows himself to God for me.

Before the throne my Savior stands,My Friend and Advocate appears;My name is graven on his hands,And him the Father always hears;While low at Jesus’ cross I bow,He hears the blood of sprinkling now.

This instant now I may receiveThe answer of his powerful prayer;This instant now by him I live,His prevalence with God declare;And soon my spirit, in his hands,Shall stand where my Forerunner stands.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against youin thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sinsthrough our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in allgoodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us ineternal life. Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 20

I pray that the Lord answers you whenever you are in trouble. Let the name of Jacob’s God protect you.Let God send help to you from the sanctuary and support you from Zion.Let God recall your many grain offerings; let him savor your entirely burned offerings. Let God grant what is in your heart and fulfill all your plans.Then we will rejoice that you’ve been helped. We will fly our flags in the name of our God. Let the Lord fulfill all your requests!Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed one; God answers his anointed one from his heavenly sanctuary, answering with mighty acts of salvation achieved by his strong hand.Some people trust in chariots, others in horses; but we praise the Lord’s name.They will collapse and fall, but we will stand up straight and strong.Lord, save the king! Let him answer us when we cry out!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Psalm prayer

Merciful God,purify our hearts in the flame of your Spiritand transform our toil into an offering of praise,that we may reject the proud rule of mightand trust in Christ alone,for he is our Lord forever and ever.

Psalm 81

Refrain:Rejoice out loud to God, our strength!

Rejoice out loud to God, our strength! Shout for joy to Jacob’s God!Take up a song and strike the drum! Sweet lyre along with harp!Blow the horn on the new moon, at the full moon, for our day of celebration!Because this is the law for Israel; this is a rule of Jacob’s God.He made it a decree for Joseph when he went out against the land of Egypt, when I heard a language I did not yet know:“I lifted the burden off your shoulders; your hands are free of the brick basket!In distress you cried out, so I rescued you. I answered you in the secret of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.Listen, my people, I’m warning you! If only you would listen to me, Israel.There must be no foreign god among you. You must not bow down to any strange deity.I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from Egypt’s land. Open your mouth wide—I will fill it up!But my people wouldn’t listen to my voice. Israel simply wasn’t agreeable toward me.So I sent them off to follow their willful hearts; they followed their own advice.How I wish my people would listen to me! How I wish Israel would walk in my ways!Then I would subdue their enemies in a second; I would turn my hand against their foes.Those who hate the Lord would grovel before me, and their doom would last forever!But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: Rejoice out loud to God, our strength!

Psalm prayer

Father of mercy,keep us joyful in your salvationand faithful to your covenant;and, as we journey to your kingdom,ever feed us with the bread of life,your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Old Testament readingNumbers 20:1-13

In the first month, the entire Israelite community entered the Zin desert and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there. Now there was no water for the community, and they assembled against Moses and Aaron. Then the people confronted Moses and said to him, “If only we too had died when our brothers perished in the Lord’s presence! Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this desert to kill us and our animals here? Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place without grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates? And there’s no water to drink!”

Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the meeting tent and they fell on their faces. Then the Lord’s glory appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses: “You and Aaron your brother, take the staff and assemble the community. In their presence, tell the rock to provide water. You will produce water from the rock for them and allow the community and their animals to drink.”

Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, as the Lord had commanded him. Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. He said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Should we produce water from the rock for you?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice. Out flooded water so that the community and their animals could drink.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t trust me to show my holiness before the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I am giving them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites confronted the Lord with controversy and he showed his holiness to them.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingLuke 7:11-17

A little later Jesus went to a city called Nain. His disciples and a great crowd traveled with him. As he approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When he saw her, the Lord had compassion for her and said, “Don’t cry.” He stepped forward and touched the stretcher on which the dead man was being carried. Those carrying him stood still. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up.” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Awestruck, everyone praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:Christ has gone up on high and has led captivity captive. Alleluia.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Christ has gone up on high and has led captivity captive. Alleluia.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Lord of lifeIn your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God the King of glory,you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christwith great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen usand exalt us to the place where our Savior Christ is gone before,who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Being made one by the power of the Spirit,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.